Stabilized dispersions of micronutrients in spray oils

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are self-emulsifiable compositions containing water soluble micronutrients such as inorganic salts of zinc or manganese in a finely divided form. The concentrates are prepared from inexpensive water soluble compounds by an emulsion-dehydration process. The compositions containing horticultural mineral spray oils are capable of forming a stable emulsion with water by gentle shaking. Alternatively, the compositions may be diluted further with additional spray oils and remain as a suspension.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to improvements in compositions suitable for supplying micronutrients to growing plants by absorption through the leaves. More particularly the invention is concerned with spray oils which contain water soluble inorganic salts of the desired micronutrients dispersed in the oil by an emulsion-dehydration process.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The art to which this invention relates is aware, inter alia, of the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,865,956, 3,332,971 and 3,661,550. The compositions described in these patents contain metal salts of oil-soluble organic acids and more particularly salts of naphthenic acids. While such oil-soluble organic compounds generally perform effectively, they are rather expensive and sometimes phytotoxic.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention consists in compositions of stable suspensions in mineral oils and containing about 0.05 to about 25 per cent by weight of a water soluble inorganic micronutrient salt, about 0.5 to about 10 per cent by weight of an emulsifying agent and the balance a horticultural spray oil. The compositions are prepared by a process which includes the steps of a making a stable emulsion of a water solution of the salt in the oil, the emulsion being stabilized by using a suitable emulsifying agent which also acts as a stabilizer in the finished slurry followed by dehydration of the emulsion to form a pumpable, stable slurry of finely divided salt in the oil. The composition may be diluted, as desired for application, with additional spray oil, thereby remaining as a suspension. Alternatively, it may be gently shaken with water to form a stable emulsion.

The inorganic salts found suitable for the compositions of the invention include:

    ______________________________________                                         ZnCl.sub.2        Chloride                                                     Zn(ClO.sub.3).sub.2.4H.sub.2 O                                                                   Chlorate                                                     ZnCr.sub.2 O.sub.7.3H.sub.2 O                                                                    Dichromate                                                   Zn(HSO.sub.2.CH.sub.2 O).sub.2                                                                   Formaldehyde-                                                                  sulfoxylate                                                  Zn(CHO.sub.2).sub.2                                                                              Formate                                                      ZnC.sub.3 H.sub.7 O.sub.6 P                                                                      Glycerophosphate                                             Zn(C.sub.3 H.sub.5 O.sub.3).sub.2.3H.sub.2 O                                                     Lactate                                                      Zn(MnO.sub.4).sub.2.6H.sub.2 O                                                                   Permanganate                                                 Zn(NO.sub.3).sub.2.3H.sub.2 O or                                                                 Nitrate                                                      6 H.sub.2 O                                                                    Zn(C.sub.6 (PO.sub.5 SO.sub.4).sub.2.8H.sub.2 O                                                  1-phenol-4-sulfonate                                         ZnSO.sub.4        Sulfate                                                      Zn(SCN).sub.2     Thiocyanate                                                  Zn(C.sub.5 H.sub.9 O.sub.2).sub.2.2H.sub.2 O                                                     Valerate                                                     Mn(C.sub.2 H.sub.3 O.sub.2) .4H.sub.2 O                                                          Acetate                                                      MnCl.sub.2 or .4H.sub.2 O                                                                        Chloride                                                     Mn(CHO).sub.2).sub.2.2H O                                                                        Formate                                                      Mn(C.sub.3 H.sub.7 O.sub.6 P)                                                                    (11) Glycero-                                                                  phosphate                                                    Mn(NO.sub.3).sub.2.4H.sub.2 O                                                                    Nitrate                                                      Mn(C.sub.3 H.sub.5 O.sub.3) .3H.sub.2 O                                                          Lactate                                                      Mn.sub.2 O.sub.7 or MnO.sub.3                                                                    Heptoxide or                                                                   trioxide                                                     Mn.sub.2 (PO.sub.3).sub.6.2H.sub.2 O                                                             (111) Metaphosphate                                          Mn(H.sub.2 PO.sub.4).sub.2.2H.sub.2 O                                                            (11) Orthophosphate                                          Mn(H.sub.2 PO.sub.2).sub.2.H.sub.2 O                                                             (11) Hypophosphite                                           MnSO.sub.4.4H.sub.2 O                                                                            Sulfate (several                                                               hydrates)                                                    Mn(SCN).sub.2.3H.sub.2 O                                                                         (11) Thiocyanate                                             Mn(C.sub.5 H.sub.9 O.sub.2).sub.2.2H.sub.2 O                                                     Valerate                                                     ______________________________________                                    

The emulsifier should be compatible with the inorganic salt and relatively nonphytotoxic. Nonionic emulsifiers will be acceptable in general. Suitable emulsifier stabilizers include alkylarylpolyether alcohols having the general structural formula: ##EQU1## wherein x represents the average number of ethylene oxide units in the ether side chain. Preferred among these are Triton X207 and X363. These products are described in greater detail in the brochures "The Nonionic Octylphenoxyethanol Series", and "Triton 207" published by the Rohm and Haas Company, Philadelphia, Pa.

The horticultural spray oils used here can be characterized as non-phytotoxic hydrocarbon mineral oils, the aromatic content thereof being below about 15 percent by weight, and having a boiling point range between about 600° to 775°F, with viscosity of between about 60 and 85 SUS (Saybolt Universal Seconds). Optimum results have been obtained with compositions in which the hydrocarbon solvent has a gravity API (American Petroleum Institute) of 27 to 35, an aromatics content below about 15 percent by weight, and a viscosity SUS (Saybolt Universal Seconds) at 100°F. of 70-104, preferable about 75 to 100 SSU. It will be noted by those skilled in this art that at least some of the oils encompassed by the above definitions have pesticidal, acaricidal; insecticidal, viricidal and/or fungicidal activities and that such properties are retained in the claimed compositions which contain such oils. Accordingly, these compositions have multiple effects.

The preferred oil is that marketed under the trademarked name of "Spraytex" and which analyses as shown below:

    ______________________________________                                         R.S. No.                   1200/67                                             Sp. Gravity at 88°F.                                                                               0.8390                                              at 60°F.            0.8493                                              °API (American Petroleum Institute) Gravity                                                        35.1                                                Flash Point COC (Cleveland Open Cup) °F.                                                           395                                                 Viscosity Saybolt Universal Seconds/100°F.                                                         84.2                                                Colour, Say./NPA (Saybolt/National                                              Petroleum Association)    0.5                                                 Pour Point, °F.     5                                                   Neutralization No. mg. KOH/g.                                                                             0.04                                                Distillation, °F(ASTM D-447) Initial boiling                             point                     637                                                 10%                        675                                                 50%                        696                                                 90%                        729                                                 Final boiling point        745                                                 Aromatics                  10.7                                                Ash, % wt.                 0.001                                               Unsulfonatable Residue, %  94.2                                                ______________________________________                                    

The composition may be prepared by an emulsion-dehydration technique using a Climbing Film Evaporator (CFE) or rising film evaporator. This apparatus is especially useful in concentrating mixtures such as emulsions which foam considerably on heating and is described in detail in Hausbrand, E., Evaporating Condensing and Cooling Apparatus, Fourth English Edition, pp 422-4., D. Van Nostrand Co. New York, New York.

The CFE is essentially a distillation apparatus but instead of the conventional distillation flask, it consists of a long tube, heated by a steam-jacket. The charge enters at the bottom of the tube which is under reduced pressure, and ascends in the form of a thin film from which the more volatile component is flashed-off. The top of the tube connects to a cyclone in order to minimise entrainment of concentrated material in the volatile component. Concentrate and water-vapor are then cooled and collected in separate line systems. Feed to the evaporator is controlled by a D.C.L. micro pump (a diaphragm-type pump) and enters the CFE through a mercury leg which is necessary for the pump to operate satisfactorily into a vacuum. The output rate and the degree of concentration may be controlled by adjusting the operating pressure, the steam pressure, and the charge rate. The following is charged as an emulsion to the apparatus.

    ______________________________________                                         Spraytex CT        1200 g                                                      Triton X207        60 g                                                        Water              740 g                                                       Micronutrient                                                                  salt               24 to 240 grams                                             ______________________________________                                         The CFE used had a total internal volume of 131 ml.; the optimum range of      operating conditions for this apparatus were found to be: operating      pressure : 1-25 mm Hg; steam pressure: 15 to 25 psig; charge rate: 1/4 to      1hr.

As the product tends to settle upon standing, it was considered necessary to develop a product stability test. In this test, a representative sample (250cc) of the product is agitated for 5 minutes using a Silverson Mixer/Emulsifier at its maximum speed setting. The agitated mixture is then placed in a measuring cylinder (250 cc) and aliquots (10 cc) are drawn every half-hour. The samples are taken from 20-25 cc below the surface and analysed for zinc or manganese content by atomic absorption spectroscopy.

The effect of varying the feed-rate into the reactor is shown in the explanatory data of Tables I and II. High feed-rates may be obtained, up to 3600 ml/hour (the total internal volume of the CFE tube is 131 ml.) but this is accompanied by an increase in the water-content of the product. However, this is not detrimental from the stability standpoint. In fact the higher water-content is to be preferred in terms of long term storage (See Table III). Thus the product from Run 8, containing 1% water settles rapidly within 5 hours, while the product from Run 5 with 0.5 water forms a cake after standing for one week, hand-shaking being then incapable of restoring its original composition. On the other hand Runs 6 and 7 with 3.7% and 4.8% water, respectively (Tables II and III), show no settling after 5 hours and no tendency towards caking; after standing for one week or more, the mixture is readily reconstituted by gentle shaking. A stable product containing as much as 4.5% zinc has been prepared (Run II, Table II) with a water-content of 5.5%.

Table IV illustrates the effect of the anionic species of the zinc salt. The salts studied are the sulphate (Table II), the acetate and the chloride. The sulphate and the acetate both form stable concentrates (Table V) unlike the chloride which is unstable. Three Runs (20, 21 and 23) have been carried out using Triton X114 (Rohm & Haas alkyl phenoxy polyethoxy ethanol) as the emulsifier in place of Triton X207 (alkyl aryl polyether alcohol + non-ionic solubilizer) which was used in the other runs. Visual inspection shows that Triton X114 results in less stable products than Triton X207.

The explanatory data of Table VI seeks to determine whether the conditions under which the emulsion was concentrated would cause the micronutrient salt to lose its water of crystalization. Hydrated zinc sulphate and acetate crystals were first analysed for water content by the Dean and Stark method using benzene as the solvent. The results showed that the zinc sulphate heptahydrate dehydrated to the monohydrate as shown by the following equation:

    Zn SO.sub.4.7H.sub.2 O→Zn SO.sub.4.H.sub.2 O + 6H.sub.2 O

on the other hand zinc acetate dihydrate loses both molecules of water of crystallisation, as follows:

    Zn (CH.sub.3 COO).sub.2 2H.sub.2 O →Zn (CH.sub.3 COO).sub.2 +2H.sub.2 O

salt samples taken from the CFE products were then analysed for water content by the same method of analysis (Dean & Stark). The results showed the same water-contents for the CFE samples and fresh hydrated zinc sulphate and acetate cyrstals. Thus it may be concluded that both salts are present in the CFE products in the fully hydrated state. Table VII examines further the state of the salt and distribution of water in the product. It may be seen that the products contained water not only in the form of water of crystallisation but also in the free state. Regarding the state of the micronutrient salt, this would be mostly as insoluble matter since the free water in the system would be incapable of solubilising the total salt content.

The above data shows that zinc and managenese salts may be dispersed satisfactorily in spray oils. Although the products settle within a few hours, they are readily reconstituted by gentle hand-shaking. The dispersions containing up to 4.5% metal may be diluted either with water to form an emulsion or with additional spray oils.

It was found that under the conditions used for the emulsion-dehydration, the micronutrient salt was left in its fully hydrated form and there was also some free water.

                  TABLE I                                                          ______________________________________                                         DISPERSION OF ZINC SULPHATE IN SPRAYTEX: INITIAL                               RUN USING CLIMBING FILM EVAPORATOR                                             ______________________________________                                         Run No.         1       2       3     4                                        Reaction Conditions.sup. (a)                                                   Pressure, mm. Hg.                                                                              4-6     5-7     15    15                                       Col. Heat                                                                      (Variac setting)                                                                               90      125     135   135                                      Steam Pressure  20      20      15    24                                       p.s.i.g.                                                                       Top Temp. °C.                                                                           92      80      90    90-100                                   Emulsion feed   960     1500    1500  3500                                     rate, ml/hr.                                                                   Product Recovery.sup.(b)                                                       H.sub.2 O phase, ml.                                                                           320     380     315   240                                      Oil phase, ml.  640     755     550   550                                      Product Analysis                                                               % water in oil phase                                                                           0.5     1.5     0.2   1.0                                      % Zn in oil phase                                                                              0.37    0.40    --    --                                       Actual Zn in oil × 100                                                                   82      89      --    --                                       Theoret. Zn in oil                                                             ______________________________________                                          .sup.(a) The composition of the charge is as described for Table IV but        using only 24g of salt and Triton X207 emulsifier.                             .sup.(b) The CFE was operated only as long as was necessary to obtain a        representative sample of the product; the recovery is therefore unrelated      to the total charge prepared.                                            

                                      TABLE II                                     __________________________________________________________________________     PREPARATION OF DISPERSION OF ZINC AND                                          MANGANESE SALTS IN SPRAYTEX                                                    __________________________________________________________________________     Run No.       5   6   7   8   11  11  13                                       Reaction Conditions.sup.(a)                                                    Pressure,                                                                      mm. Hg.       15  9   9   5   11  4   2                                        Co. heat                                                                       (Variac Setting)                                                                             110 110 110 110 Max Max Max                                      Steam Pressure,                                                                p.s.i.g.      20  22  20  22  20  20  21                                       Top Temp. °C.                                                                         109 78  62  104 68  67  68                                       Emulsion Feed                                                                  Rate ml/hr.   1060                                                                               2300                                                                               3600                                                                               750 2200                                                                               2200                                                                               2200                                     Product Recovery.sup.(b)                                                       H.sub.2 O Phase                                                                mls.          265 230 270 180 585 560 585                                      Oil Phase                                                                      mls.          430 582 840 485 1400                                                                               1550                                                                               1540                                     Product Analysis                                                               % water in.sup.(c)                                                             oil phase     0.5 3.7 4.8 1.0 5.5 6.5 4.0                                      gm. Zn or Mn                                                                   in formulation                                                                               5.9 5.9 5.9 5.9 54  27  13.5                                     % Zn or Mn in                                                                  oil phase     0.61                                                                               0.68                                                                               0.63                                                                               --  --  --  --                                       Theoretical %                                                                  Zn or Mn in                                                                    oil phase     0.49                                                                               0.49                                                                               0.49                                                                               0.49                                                                               4.5 2.3 1.1                                      Zn/Mn Salt    Mn  Mn  Mn  Mn  Zn  Zn  Zn                                       In formula-   Sul-                                                                               Sul-                                                                               Sul-                                                                               Sul-                                                                               Sul-                                                                               Sul-                                                                               Sul-                                     tion          phate                                                                              phate                                                                              phate                                                                              phate                                                                              phate                                                                              phate                                                                              phate                                    __________________________________________________________________________      .sup.(a) Composition of charge as in Table I except for micronutrient          .sup.(b) Same as footnote (b) Table I                                          .sup.(c) Determined by Dean and Stark (benzene)                          

                  TABLE III                                                        ______________________________________                                         STABILITY OF MANGANESE SULPHATE DISPERSION                                     IN SPRAYTEX                                                                    ______________________________________                                         Run No.  5       6       7     5 .sup.(a)                                                                           7 .sup.(a)                                                                           8                                   time                                                                           (hr.)    % Mn in Oil Phase                                                     ______________________________________                                         0        0.59    0.70    0.62  0.42  0.66  0.42                                1/2      0.62    0.70    0.64  0.42  0.69  0.26                                1        0.66    0.62    0.59  0.41  0.69  0.21                                11/2     0.57    0.67    0.63  0.41  0.68  0.17                                2        0.62    0.62    0.65  0.41  0.65  0.10                                21/2     0.55    0.61    0.63  0.39  0.70  0.16                                3        0.64    0.61    0.61  0.39  0.68  0.15                                31/2     0.65    0.56    0.61  0.41  0.72  0.14                                4        0.62    0.60    0.62  0.41  0.64  0.12                                41/2     0.62    0.55    0.62  0.42  0.62  0.09                                5        0.61    0.52    0.56  0.39  0.68  0.10                                ______________________________________                                          .sup.(a) After standing for one week, these samples (Runs 5 and 7) were        re-suspended by hand-shaking; stability tests were then carried out in th      usual manner.                                                            

                                      TABLE IV                                     __________________________________________________________________________     PREPARATION OF DISPERSIONS OF ZINC SALTS IN SPRAYTEX                           __________________________________________________________________________     Run No.      15  16  17  18  20 .sup.(a)                                                                        21 .sup.(a)                                                                        23 .sup.(a)                               Zn salt in formula-                                                                         Ace-                                                                               Chlo-                                                                              Chlo-                                                                              Chlo-                                                                              Ace-                                                                               Ace-                                                                               Ace-                                      tion (b), type, weight,                                                                     tate                                                                               ride                                                                               ride                                                                               ride                                                                               tate                                                                               tate                                                                               tate                                      g.           24  60  24  24  60  120 24                                        Reaction Conditions                                                            Pressure, mm.Hg.                                                                            3   4   4   4   5   6   5                                         Col. Heat (Variac                                                              setting)     Max.                                                                               Max.                                                                               Max.                                                                               Max.                                                                               Max.                                                                               Max.                                                                               Max.                                      Steam, Pressure,                                                               psig.        20  20  20  20  20  20  20                                        Top Temp., °C.                                                                       82  66  68  85  68  76  77                                        Emulsion Feed Rate,                                                            ml./hr.      1350                                                                               2300                                                                               2300                                                                               1350                                                                               2400                                                                               2400                                                                               1350                                      Product Recovery                                                               H.sub.2 O Phase, ml.                                                                        485 435 520 390 500 560 485                                       Oil Phase, ml.                                                                              1320                                                                               1390                                                                               1610                                                                               1060                                                                               1395                                                                               1555                                                                               1360                                      Product Analysis                                                               % water in oil                                                                 phase .sup.c)                                                                               3.2 9.0 6.5 3.6 4.0 4.9 3.0                                       __________________________________________________________________________      .sup.(a) Runs 20, 21 and 23 used Triton X114 as emulsifier and not Triton      X207 as in all previous runs.                                                  .sup.(b) Formulation of emulsion charged to the climbing film evaporator:      1200 gms. Spraytex; 740 gms. water, 60 gms. emulsifier, 24 to 240 gms.         zinc salt                                                                      .sup.(c) Determined by Dean and Stark (benzene)                          

                                      TABLE V                                      __________________________________________________________________________     STABILITY OF ZINC SALT DISPERSIONS IN SPRAYTEX                                 __________________________________________________________________________            Zn in oil phase                                                         Run No.                                                                                9    15  11  12  23  16  18                                            __________________________________________________________________________     Time (hrs.)                                                                    0      0.55  0.49                                                                               2.3 1.7 0.90                                                                               1.6 0.67                                          1/2    0.52  0.49                                                                               2.5 1.9 0.86                                                                               1.9 0.63                                          1      0.53  0.57                                                                               1.7 1.9 0.74                                                                               0.06                                                                               0.73                                          11/2   0.51  0.49                                                                               1.6 2.0 0.79                                                                               0.04                                                                               0.08                                          2      0.45  0.53                                                                               1.9 1.8 0.82                                                                               0.04                                                                               0.06                                          21/2   0.46  0.52                                                                               1.2 2.0 0.77                                                  3      0.46  0.49                                                                               2.4 1.7 0.86                                                  31/2   0.45  0.51                                                                               0.6 1.6 0.88                                                  4      0.44  0.35                                                                               2.3 1.1 0.82                                                  41/2   0.43  0.53                                                                               0.9 1.7 0.75                                                  5      --    0.51                                                                               2.7 1.0 0.81                                                  Zn salt in                                                                            Ace- .sup.(a)                                                                        Ace-                                                                               Sul-                                                                               Sul-                                                                               Sul-                                                                               Chlo-                                                                              Chlo-                                         formulation                                                                           tate  tate                                                                               phate                                                                              phate                                                                              phate                                                                              ride                                                                               ride                                          type                                                                           wt. mgs.                                                                              24    24  240 120 60  60  24                                            __________________________________________________________________________     .sup.(a) Formulation of emulsion charge to the climbing film evaporator               1200 gms.                                                                               Spraytex                                                              740 gms. water                                                                 60 gms.  Triton X207                                                           24 to 240 gms.                                                                          Zinc salt                                                      except for run 23 (See Table IV)                                          

                  TABLE VI                                                         ______________________________________                                         WATER OF CRYSTALLISATION IN MICRONUTRIENTS SALTS                               ______________________________________                                                                 % H.sub.2 O                                                         % H.sub.2 O,                                                                              Dean &                                                 Sample       Calc'd     Stark    Observations                                  ______________________________________                                         Fresh ZnSO.sub.4.7H.sub.2 O                                                                 37.5--basis                                                                               38       Under condi-                                               monohydrate         tions of Dean                                              44--basis           & Stark test                                               anhydrous           the heptahy-                                                                   drate dehy-                                                                    drates to the                                                                  monohydrate                                   Zinc Sulphate                                                                                 --       38       Salt is pre-                                   ex Run 11                       sent in the                                                                    micronutrient                                                                  Spraytex con-                                                                  centrate as the                                                                heptahydrate                                  Fresh Zn(CH.sub.3 COO).sub.2                                                                16.5--basis                                                                               16       Under condi-                                   2 H.sub.2 O anhydrous           tions of Dean                                                                  & Stark test                                                                   the dihydrate                                                                  dehydrates                                                                     completely                                    Zinc Acetate   --       17       Salt is pre-                                   ex Run 21                       sent in the                                                                    micronutrient                                                                  Spraytex con-                                                                  centrate as                                                                    the dehydrate                                 ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE VII                                    __________________________________________________________________________     SOLID SALT CONTENT AND %-FREE WATER OF MICRONUTRIENT SPRAYTEX                  __________________________________________________________________________     CONCENTRATES                                                                   Run No.     2   11   12   13  9    15                                          __________________________________________________________________________     Salt                                                                           (Micronutrient)                                                                            ←ZnSO.sub.4 . 7H.sub.2 O →                                                           ←Zn(CH.sub.3 COO).sub.2 . 2H.sub.2 O        Theoretical gms. salt                                                          per 100 cc. Spraytex                                                           concentrate 2   20   10   5   2    2                                           Measured gms. salt per                                                         100 cc.                                                                        Spraytex concentrate                                                                       1.8 11.3 8.5  3.9 1.6  1.8                                         % salt in concentrate                                                          (basis theoretical)                                                                        90  57   85   78  80   90                                          % water in Spraytex                                                            concentrate 1.6 5.5  6.5  4.0 0.5  3.2                                         % water ex water                                                               of crystallisation                                                                         0.7 4.3  3.2  1.5 0.3  0.3                                         %-free water                                                                               0.9 1.2  3.3  2.5 0.2  2.9                                         Gms. of salt, free                                                             water can solubilize                                                                       0.9 1.2  3.2  2.4 0.06 1.0                                         gms. Insoluble salt                                                                        0.9 10.1 5.3  1.5 1.5  0.8                                         __________________________________________________________________________

The present compositions can be applied to the leaves, branches or barks of plants by means of knapsack mistblowers and heavy portable sprayers. As required by the terrain, there may be used instead fixed winged airplanes or helicopters equipped with Micronair))rotary atomizer manufactured by Britten-Norman, Ltd., England) or boom type sprayers. Naturally, better distribution of the oil and lower cost of application are obtained by air spraying. The application rate of the composition may range from about 0.5 to 20 gallons per acre whether the composition is applied by air or by ground spraying. The amount of oil remaining on the plants can vary greatly according to the type of sprayer and the properties of the oil used. With an air pressure sprayer adjusted to a given discharge rate, the weight of the deposit will vary inversely with the viscosity of the oils used. In low volume sprayers, a reduction in viscosity means a greater rate of discharge or an increase in droplet size and either may give poor distribution of spray. The objective of the application is to spray the minimum quantity of the oil composition over the entire surface of the leaf, branch or bark. A suitable droplet size is of about 80 microns but this size can be within the range of 50 to 100 microns. A desirable density is one of about 32 droplets per cm². Spraying is preferably done in the early morning hours when the whether is calm in order to minimize drifting of the oil spray.

Substantially similar results are obtained with salts of molybdenum, calcium, magnesium and iron. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A composition self-emulsifiable with a horticultural spray oil and efffective for supplying micronutrients to the leaves of plants, comprising in combination a non-phytotoxic hydrocarbon mineral oil having a gravity API of 27-35, a viscosity at 100° F of 70 to 104 Saybolt Universalt Seconds and a boiling point between about 600° and 775° F.; an emulsifying agent serving also as a stabilizer and consisting of an alkylarylpolyether alcohol and a water-soluble inorganic salt of the group of calcium, copper, molydenum, magnesium, zinc, manganese and iron.
 2. The composition of claim 1 containing from 0.05 to about 25 per cent by weight of said salt; about 0.5 to about 10 per cent by weight of said stabilizer, the balance spray oil.
 3. The composition of claim 1 wherein said salt is selected from the group of: Mn(C₃ H₇ O₆ P); Mn(NO₃)₂.4H₂ O; Mn(C₃ H₅ O₃).3H₂ O; Mn₂ O₇ or MnO₃ ; Mn₂ (PO₃)₆.2H₂ O; Mn(H₂ PO₄)₂.2H₂ O; Mn(H₂ PO₂)₂.H₂ O; MnSO₄.4H₂ O; Mn(SCN)₂.3H₂ O; Mn(C₅ H₉ O₂)₂.2H₂ O; ZnCl₂ ; Zn(ClO₃)₂.4H₂ O; ZnCR₂ O₇.3H₂ O; Zn(HSO₂.CH₂ O)₂ ; Zn(CHO₂)₂ ; ZnC₃ H₇ O₆ P; Zn(C₃ H₅ O₃)₂.3H₂ O; Zn(Mno₄)₂.6H₂ O; Zn(NO₃)₂.3H₂ O or 6H₂ O; Zn(C₆ H₅ SO₄)₂.8H₂ O; ZnSO₄ ; Zn(SCN)₂ ZN(C₅ H₉ O₂)₂.2H₂ O; Mn(C₂ H₃ O₂)₂.4H₂ O; MnCl₂ or 4H₂ O; and Mn(CHO₂)₂.2H₂ O.
 4. The process for supplying micronutrients to plants which comprises spraying the leaves, branches or bark of said plants with from 0.5 to 20 gallons per acre of the composition of claim
 1. 